Saint Joseph Catholic Church

“In identifying ‘the instruments of good works,’ Saint Benedict, in Chapter IV of the Rule, urges us to ‘keep guard over one’s every act,’” Pope Leo said. “You, contemplative Benedictine nuns, Benedictine monks, know well how much prayer and prayerful reading of the Word of God, especially in the lectio divina, assist in this vigilance, enabling those who practice them to understand the truth about themselves, in the recognition of their own weaknesses and sins and in the celebration of the Lord’s graces and blessings.”

The Pope concluded:

Dear brothers and sisters, thank you for the immense and hidden good you do for the Church, through your offering, your unceasing prayer, your service, and the witness of your life. Continue this work, which is “the work of God” (cf. Saint Benedict, Rule, 43, 3).

I entrust you to Mary Most Holy, Mother of Silence, Woman of Listening, to Saint Benedict, to Saint Scholastica, and to the many Benedictine saints, and I bless you from my heart.

“There is a shared willingness to truly get to the bottom of things,” said Bishop Olivier de Cagny of Évreux, who led a discussion of the topic at the French bishops’ recent meeting. “It is the first time I have heard so clearly that the subject must be addressed at a theological level, and not merely in a pastoral and emotional way.”

La Croix reported:

While the majority of the Assembly showed itself determined to tackle the subject head-on, several positions emerged: some, aligned with the Motu Proprio of Francis, expect the same firmness from Leo XIV; others are open to accommodations, but only under certain conditions—a common lectionary and liturgical calendar, the celebration of the other sacraments (baptism, marriage, confirmation…) according to the new rite (possibly in Latin), a return to episcopal responsibility within each diocese, and above all, an end to “exclusivism”—that is, the strict refusal to celebrate according to the new missal, which the bishops consider “unacceptable” (and contrary to the spirit of Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio, which called for “mutual enrichment”).

“Thank you for your generous commitment to helping young people in their formation and integration into the workplace,” Pope Leo said. “Investing not in objects, but in people, in their abilities and skills, constitutes a key strength of your work.”

“Indeed, in this way, it is the young people themselves who become the protagonists of their own future, without being regarded as functional tools for a company or cogs in the wheel of commercial success,” the Pope added.

“The central topic of the conversation was the proclamation of the Gospel—and, in this context, the situation of the Church in Germany,” the bishops’ conference said in a statement. “Bishop Wilmer expressed his gratitude to the Holy Father for the trust placed in him regarding his appointment as Bishop of Münster,” Germany’s most populous diocese.

Pope Leo XIV appointed eleven new members of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Four of the new members are from the United States.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, met with Yaron Sideman, Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See, to discuss the Israeli police’s decision to bar the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

“The Angelicum expresses its deep gratitude to the Holy Father for his paternal attention and encouragement, and renews its commitment to serving the Church and her universal mission of evangelization through study, teaching, and research in the tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas,” the university said in a statement following the audience.

“In agreement with the Israel Police, access for representatives of the Churches has been secured in order to conduct the liturgies and ceremonies and to preserve the ancient Easter traditions at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” the statement continued. “Naturally, and in light of the current state of war, the existing restrictions on public gatherings remain in force for the time being. Accordingly, the Churches will ensure that the liturgies and prayers are broadcast live to the faithful in the Holy Land and throughout the world.”

The March 30 statement followed the Israeli police’s decision, made the previous day, to prevent Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M., from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass. Following international condemnation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would permit Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, to enter the church.

In their March 30 statement, the Latin Patriarchate and the Custody of the Holy Land thanked Israeli President Isaac Herzog for his “prompt attention and valued intervention,” as well heads of state around the world who “acted swiftly to convey their firm positions, many of whom personally reached out to express their closeness and support.”

The Vatican newspaper lamented a massacre committed by Haiti’s Gran Grif gang that claimed the lives of at least 70 people on March 29.